Duelist of the Roses
by Kenny Rutter
Summary: A Duel Monsters tournament in New York City catches the attention of Curtis Miller, Yugi Moto, and their friends, as well as a man with a vendetta against Maximillian Pegasus, the creator of the game.
1. Pandora

**PANDORA**

The snow began to fall as the storm rolled in. The temperature had been dropping for the last two days, all leading up to this blizzard. First came the wind, making the already cold air feel even colder. And then the snow came, the high winds blowing the snow to the point of whiting out the world. Because of this snow and wind, most people were off the roads, staying inside to try and keep warm.

To Jefferson Hewitt, better known by his online persona Pandora, the cold didn't bother him. He had spent most of his life living in the cold, hailing from Alaska. Most of his childhood was spent in the cold, and not because he wanted it to be that way. He'd been alone ever since his parents were killed when he was just nine years old. And his first several months alone were spent in the wilderness of Alaska, exposed to the bitter cold. It was only through luck and determination that he managed to survive.

Fifteen years later, that life had been put behind him. Or at least, he had hoped it was. He stood on the roof of his New York apartment complex, looking through the snow at the towering building he knew was only less than a mile away. Even through the snow, he could see the illuminated neon sign, showing "I2" through the whiteout.

Industrial Illusions, the company founded by Maximillian Pegasus, responsible for the creation of the card game known as Duel Monsters. A short time after the game's debut a few years ago, it became a worldwide phenomenon, with multiple tournaments held year round across the globe. Children and adults alike fell in love with this game, and a person couldn't even go to the grocery store without hearing about the two top duelists in the world – Seto Kaiba, president and CEO of KaibaCorp, who invented the holographic arenas and the duel disk system, and Yugi Moto, the so-called "King of Games". Mr. Pegasus himself granted Yugi the title after Yugi beat him at the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

Hewitt could care less about Yugi Moto. After all, he wasn't the one who made this card game. Looking back on the last few years, just what had come from this seemingly innocent children's card game? Pegasus briefly became an insane psychopath thanks to the Millennium Item he was holding at the time; the heir to a tombkeeper went mad with power, believing he was next in line to be an Egyptian king; and just how many people had been killed because of this game? Some of those deaths could be attributed to mystical forces, like the Millennium Items he had read up about, and some were just out right murders – and most of those were when Pegasus was under the dark influence of his Millennium Eye.

Hewitt stepped inside and shook the snow out of his long black hair as he thought about what Pegasus had done by making this card game. It was hard to believe that so much trouble had come from something so innocuous, so inconspicuous. And yet, he had a deck of cards sitting in the drawer of his dresser.

He pulled the drawer open. Sitting among the various handheld game consoles was a deck of cards. Being a gamer, he was drawn to Duel Monsters when the first decks hit the shelves, but as the horrible things started he began to question if the game was really just as innocent as it seemed.

And then he learned about the game's history stemming from ancient Egypt. He learned about how the game known as Duel Monsters was based off of games played by the Egyptians during the time of the Pharaohs, and how those games were sometimes played in place of war, and the consequences were more severe than simply feeling depressed for a few minutes. Stories told of a dark realm known as the Shadow Realm, which may as well have been hell itself.

How could Pegasus have brought back those dark games? Had he known?

It didn't matter to Hewitt. What mattered was that no one seemed willing to do anything to prevent any more tragedies brought on by this simple card game.

But he would change that. All he needed was an opportunity.

Hewitt picked up the remote control for the television; the Weather Channel had been on since this morning. He flipped through the channels, going past the local news, the morning talk and game shows, stopping when he saw Maximillian Pegasus's face on ESPN.

"Attention duelists around the world," he announced. "The time has come to host a new Duel Monsters tournament exactly one week from today in New York City. This tournament will determine the best players in the world. So ready your decks, rethink your strategies, and meet in Madison Square Garden on January 17. Because when all duelists are gathered in one place, it will be time to duel. Invitations are being sent out right now, so feel free to register to test your skills against the greatest duelists in the world."

Jefferson Hewitt picked his duel deck out of his drawer. The time was drawing near.


	2. The Invitation

**THE INVITATION**

"Looks like you're in trouble, Curtis."

Curtis Miller sat across the table from his older sister Stephanie. The two of them were playing a game of Duel Monsters; Curtis had recently gotten his sister into the game after talking about it for the last six months, coupled with an incident involving Curtis having his body taken over by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian priest. Ignoring that short incident, Stephanie had started taking an interest in the game, so with Curtis's help, she had bought her first deck one week ago – she was using a Paleozoic Frogs deck, which specialized in special summoning and using Trap Cards in place of monsters.

At the moment, the only monster Curtis had on the field was his Synchro monster, The Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, a Level Four monster with 2500 Attack Points and the ability to negate and destroy any Spell or Trap Card that would be activated. He had one card face down, the Trap Card Call of the Haunted, and in his hand he held two Spell Cards, Dark Hole – which wiped the field of all monsters – and Monster Reincarnation – which added one monster from the Graveyard to the player's hand. As for Stephanie, she had an XYZ monster, Toadally Awesome – a name which they both agreed was incredibly stupid – a Rank Two monster with 2200 Attack Points and the ability to both special summon a Toad monster and destroy any activated Spell or Trap Card by detaching one XYZ material monster. Curtis was sitting at 1100 Life Points while Stephanie was sitting at 1800.

"Oh, I'm in trouble?" Curtis repeated.

"All I have to do is get rid of your Samurai and the game is mine," Stephanie answered.

Curtis grinned. "See, that would work, if I didn't have this." He played his Spell Card from his hand. "Dark Hole. It destroys all monsters on the field."

"But that means you lose your Samurai, too," Stephanie pointed out as she moved her frog to the Graveyard.

"True," Curtis agreed as he put Shi En in the Graveyard along with Dark Hole. "But that's why I put this down earlier." He revealed his face down Trap. "Call of the Haunted to bring back one monster, and I'm bringing back Shi En." He put Shi En back on the field. "I will attack and that is game."

"That's three games in a row," Stephanie complained as the two of them cleaned up their cards.

"You're still starting out," Curtis said. "You'll get the hang of it. Even Seto Kaiba didn't learn how to play the game overnight."

"You seemed to."

"If you're referring to…that…I only won because Yugi, Joey, and Seto loaned me their strongest cards."

"But it's been six months. You've gotten a lot better."

The door opened as their mother stepped through the door, a wad of mail in her hands. "Hey Curtis, you got something."

Curtis got up from the table and took the envelope from his mother. It was a white envelope with two capital I's for the return address. Beneath those two I's were the words "Industrial Illusions."

"Industrial Illusions," Curtis read. "That's the company that makes the Duel Monsters card game." He ripped the envelope open. Inside was a small card. He opened the card.

The message looked like it had been written by a woman, save for the small fact that it was signed with a man's name – Maximillian Pegasus. Pegasus, from what he had been told, was the man who created the card game after a trip to Egypt; as Curtis had learned practically first hand, the card game was based off of the ancient Shadow Games played during the time of the Pharaohs.

Curtis read the message in the card.

"What is it?" his mother asked; she and Stephanie had joined him, reading over his shoulder.

"It looks like an invitation," Curtis guessed. "Let's see…." He looked at the message again before reading it out loud.

" 'Duelist, you are cordially invited to participate in the Duel Monsters Rose Tournament held at Madison Square Garden in New York City from December 15 to December 17. Bring all your skills, because the best duelists in the world will be here, competing for the title of Duelist of the Roses'."

"A tournament for a card game?" Stephanie asked. "I mean, the game can be fun, but people really show up just to watch people play cards?"

"They do it all the time with poker," Curtis answered as he put the invitation on the table. "Sounds like I've got a week to prepare for this tournament."

"Won't that tie into your school time?" his mother asked.

"I can afford to miss a couple days, Mom," Curtis replied. "I wonder if Yugi and Joey got the same invite?"

#############################

"You got an invite too, huh?" Joey Wheeler asked as he held the invitation in his hand, nestled between his index and middle fingers. "Got mine last night. Guess that white hair pretty boy was impressed with my performance at Duelist Kingdom."

"You've certainly come a long way since then, Joey," Yugi Moto said; he, too, was holding an invitation, though he was in the middle of putting it in his pocket. "Pegasus must see that too."

"If you're talking about the duel between the two of you, then I can't say I'm surprised," Tea Gardner put in. "You two gave it your all then."

"Given what was on the line, are you really surprised?" Tristan Taylor asked.

Curtis sat down on the bench; the five friends had convened at the small park just outside of school after class had let out. As he had expected, both Joey and Yugi had gotten an invitation, and he was sure that Seto Kaiba had gotten one as well, and there had been a lot of talk about the previous tournament Maximillian Pegasus held at his personal island, called the Duelist Kingdom. Joey and Yugi said that Pegasus was a different person back then, thanks to the influence of the Millennium Eye, which also, according to Yugi, allowed him to peer into his opponents' mind and see what their strategies would be.

And after what happened six months ago, that incident with the ancient Egyptian priest Heishin, Curtis was willing to believe them.

"I'll be honest, Curt," Joey said, "I'm surprised you got an invite. You're still just a newb."

"So were you once, and you participated in that Duelist Kingdom tournament," Curtis corrected him.

"Technically, Joey was never invited to that one," Tristan said. "He entered illegitimately."

"How about I come over there and illegitimately rearrange your face, Tristan!" Joey yelled. "Besides, I was still able to help my sister get that operation, wasn't I?"

"Only because of Yugi," Tea answered. "But you're right; you entering that tournament did help Serenity."

Curtis had met Joey's younger sister a few times in the last couple of months. She was only a couple of years younger than them, and he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't think she was absolutely adorable.

"So when's this tournament?" Tristan asked.

"In one week," Yugi answered. "I already booked my plane ticket."

"Same," Curtis put in. "Well, my mom did. She's coming along, and so is Stephanie."

"How's she doing with her dueling skills, anyway?" Joey asked.

"Still learning, but she's coming along," Curtis answered. "By the way, Joey, did you get your plane ticket yet?"

"Yeah, I'm all over it."

"Okay. But you may want to bring a jacket," Curtis said. "This time of year, New York's pretty cold."

"How bad can it be?" Joey asked with a dismissive wave of the hand.

###########################

Jefferson held the invitation in his hand. Finally, a chance to get close to Pegasus, a chance to avenge his father. Of course, he still had to wait a week, and then there was the snow – according to the forecast, another bad snowstorm was due to hit just after the tournament began – but none of that mattered.

He checked his deck again to make sure everything was set. It had taken him months to set up this deck; he was running a Dark Abyss deck, which he was sure would be more than a match for Pegasus's Toon deck.

 _Prepare yourself, Pegasus. I'm coming for you._

 _###########################_

Curtis flipped through his deck. Over the past few months, he added some new cards to his Six Samurai deck, including two Bujin cards – the Beast-Warrior Bujin Yamato and the Beast Bujingi Turtle, who he would use to XYZ summon his new XYZ monster, the Rank Four Beast-Warrior Bujintei Susanowo – as well as the Trap Cards Mind Drain, Reinforcements, Quaking Mirror Force, and Half or Nothing, along with a Synchro monster called Lightning Warrior and another XYZ monster called Number 51: Finisher the Strong Arm. Along with those, he had made himself a fifteen card side deck, which consisted mostly of Spell and Trap cards, with only one monster, Tenkabito Shien. He was still nowhere on the level of Seto Kaiba, Yugi, or even Joey, but those new cards, coupled with how his skills had been improving, helped build his confidence. He also removed two copies of Shien's Squire, since he only needed one to Synchro Summon The Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En, as well as the Trap Card The Emperor's Holiday and the Spell Cards Different Dimension Reincarnation, Dimensional Fissure, and Creature Swap.

So Curtis's deck was now at the maximum sixty cards with a two card Extra Deck. He hoped it would be enough; he recently learned about Pendulum Summoning and he knew that Industrial Illusions was going to announce a new summoning technique called Link Summoning sometime in the summer. Chances were, he wouldn't make it very far; he'd consider himself lucky if he got past the first round. But he had his friends backing him up, and he had his newfound belief in the Heart of the Cards.

Like Joey said, how bad could it be?


	3. Testing My Skills

**TESTING MY SKILLS**

Seto Kaiba stood in the testing area of KaibaCorp. After getting that invitation to this Duel Monsters Rose Tournament in New York City next week, he immediately headed here, hoping to hone his skills; he needed to be at the top of his game, especially if he ended up facing off against Yugi Moto or Maximillian Pegasus. He no longer controlled Obelisk the Tormentor – he hadn't since he lost that card to Yugi during the Battle City finals – but with his deck built the way it was, he had no worries about losing.

He stood across from the computerized device, which was using a similar deck to Yugi. Seto, of course, was using his Blue Eyes deck. He checked the deck slot of his duel disk, making sure all his cards were in there. He set his Life Points to 8000 and drew five cards. The machine also drew five cards.

"I'll start this duel off," Seto announced, "by setting one card face down." He set the Spell Card Tribute to the Doomed in the Spell Card slot of his duel disk. "Then I'll summon Maiden With Eyes of Blue in Attack Position." A beautiful woman appeared, dressed in a tan dress with long flowing white hair. "And I end my turn."

"Draw Phase." The machine drew a sixth card. "Standby Phase. Main Phase One. Summon Level Four Machine/Effect monster Green Gadget in Attack Position," the machine announced in a computerized voice. The green machine appeared, resembling a green ball with arms and legs. "Effect: Add one Red Gadget from deck to hand." The machine added the appropriate card; shuffled the deck. "Set one Spell or Trap Card in the Spell and Trap zone. End Main Phase One. Battle Phase. Green Gadget attacks for 1400 points of damage."

"I switch the battle position of my maiden to negate your attack," Seto announced as he moved his Maiden into Defense Position. "By doing that, I can Special Summon one Blue Eyes White Dragon from the deck!" The massive white dragon appeared next to the woman, who barely came up to its knees. Its white scales shone against the bright lights of the room, and the room shook as it roared at the machine monster. "Continue or end your turn."

"Main Phase Two. End Phase," the machine announced. "Pass turn to Seto Kaiba."

Seto drew a card, the Spell Card Meteor of Destruction. "I play the Spell Card I just drew, Meteor of Destruction, to hit your for 1000 points of damage." The machine's Life Points dropped to 7000 as a large fireball hit it. "Next I'll summon Sage With Eyes of Blue in Attack Position." A tall man adorned in blue armor appeared next to he Maiden. "When he's Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one Level One Turner monster from my deck to my hand." He searched his deck. "And I choose my second Maiden With Eyes of Blue." He added the Maiden to his hand, then shuffled his deck. "Now, attack, Blue Eyes White Dragon! White Lightning!" The dragon fired a white stream of energy from its mouth, obliterating Green Gadget and dropping the machine's Life Points down to 5400. "And I end my turn."

"Draw Phase." The machine drew a new card. "Standby Phase. Main Phase One. Special Summon Trap Card Stronghold the Moving Fortress to the Monster Zone in Defense Position." A large mechanical figure appeared on the field. Seto was aware of this card; it was a Trap Card that could also act as a monster. The Paleozoic Frog archetype heavily relied upon cards such as that one. "Main Phase Two. Set one card face down in the Spell and Trap Zone. End Phase. Pass to Seto Kaiba."

The card Seto drew was the Spell Card Final Flame. "I play Final Flame to hit you for 600." The machine was enveloped in flames, and its Life Points dropped to 4800. "Next I'll summon my second Maiden With Eyes of Blue in Attack Position, and next, I'll tune her with my Blue Eyes White Dragon to Synchro Summon Azure Eyes Silver Dragon in Attack Position." The two monsters disappeared; in their place stood a large, silver dragon. It roared, causing small cracks to appear in the wall. "Now, Azure Eyes Silver Dragon, attack and destroy that Stronghold!" The dragon prepared to fire a burst of energy from its mouth.

"Opponent has declared an attack," the machine announced. "In response, chain Trap Card, Mirror Force."

"Sorry, but Azure Eyes Silver Dragon negates all other card effects until the end of the next turn, so you just wasted your Mirror Force," Seto boasted.

The dragon's attack continued, and Stronghold the Moving Fortress melted.

"Next I'll switch my Sage into Defense Position and end my turn."

"Draw Phase." The machine drew a card. "Standby Phase. Main Phase One. Set one monster in face down Defense Position. Main Phase Two. End Phase. Pass to Seto Kaiba."

"I draw," Seto announced. "During my Standby Phase, Azure Eyes Silver Dragon lets me Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard, and the monster I choose is my Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared next to the Azure Eyes Silver Dragon. Both dragons roared. "Next I'll play the Spell Card The Melody of Awakening Dragon to add two dragons with 3000 Attack Points and 2500 Defense Points from my deck to my hand, and I choose my other two Blue Eyes White Dragons." He added the two dragons to his hand and reshuffled his deck. "Next I'll play Tribute to the Doomed. By sending Maxx 'C' from my hand to the Graveyard, I can destroy your monster." A mummified hand came up out of the floor, pulling his opponent's monster down with it.

"Activate Flip Effect of Old Vindictive Magician," the machine announced. "Destroy one monster on opponent's side of the field. Destroy Azure Eyes Silver Dragon." Azure Eyes Silver Dragon exploded.

"Not like it matters," Seto said smugly. "I tribute my two weaker monsters to summon one of my Blue Eyes White Dragons!" Sage and Maiden vanished, making way for a second Blue Eyes White Dragon. "I attack with both monsters for a total of 6000 points of damage and end this duel." Both dragons' attacks hit the machine, reducing its Life Points to 0.

Seto grinned. He still had it, and if a possible duel with Yugi went like this, then he had nothing to worry about.

If he was being honest with himself, it was Pegasus that concerned him.


	4. New York City

**SO IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I UPDATED THIS ONE, AND I REALLY DON'T HAVE AN EXCUSE FOR THAT. ALL I CAN DO IS APOLOGIZE AND TRY TO KEEP UPDATING AS MUCH AS I CAN. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING, READERS!**

 **NEW YORK CITY**

"Geez, why's it so cold?"

Joey rubbed his arms, trying to warm them up, as they climbed off the plane at the airport. In the middle of December, they knew it was going to be much colder than back home – and in fact, Joey had been warned about the cold multiple times – yet he still refused to wear anything heavier than a light green jacket, while everyone else was in sweaters and coats.

It didn't help that the wind was blowing, making it seem colder than it really was.

"We told you how many times to dress warm?" Tea scolded him.

"I didn't think you were being serious!" Joey shot back.

"Go to New York in the middle of winter without a coat," Tristan mocked him. "What's the worst that could happen, right?"

"Shut up, Tristan."

The warmth of the airport terminal met them as soon as they reached the doors. Joey shivered again as his body adjusted to the change in temperature. Everyone else began to unzip their coats, letting the warm air reach them.

Curtis knew there would be a lot of people here – it was New York City, after all, the most populous city in the United States, with a total population of eight and a half million people – but out of all these people, he couldn't help but wonder how many were here for the Duel Monsters tournament. In the last six months, he had learned that the card game was insanely popular, to the point where many people based their entire lives around it. He enjoyed the game, and liked playing against his friends, but he couldn't imagine it being a way of life.

An hour later, their shuttle van arrived at Madison Square Garden. Having never seen it in person before, they all marveled at just how huge it was. With an overall field size of 820,000 square feet, there was a reason it was one of the largest stadiums in the country, if not the world. It was no wonder, then, why Pegasus chose this place to hold this tournament. It could house so many duelists and spectators – each stadium could seat up to 20,000 people, and with five stadiums plus a theater, that gave the entire building enough room to hold up to 102,000 people in total. And judging from the map that Stephanie had picked up at the airport, it was accessible from several major train, bus, and subway routes.

"So where do we go from here?" Curtis asked as they entered the building.

"I'm going to assume we follow the signs," Stephanie said, pointing to a sign reading "Duel Monsters Tournament".

"Huh. How'd I miss that?"

They wormed their way through the crowd, following the signs to the stadium used for the New York Knicks. Thousands of people were already here, some in the stands trying to find a place to seat, some at the various small tables in the room to register for the tournament. Some cameras were being set up so the tournament could be broadcast on television and the Internet – no doubt this was going to be streamed to YouTube – and thanks to all the chatter, it was so loud that Curtis could barely hear Yugi calling him over to one of the registration tables.

"Spacing out there, pal?" Joey asked.

"Sorry; couldn't hear you over this crowd."

They were next in line to register. Yugi stepped up first.

"Name?" the registration officer asked.

"Yugi Moto."

The registration officer pressed some keys on a computer keyboard as he searched through a database. "Yugi Moto. Okay. Says here you were champion of Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, and you run a Spellcaster deck with emphasis on Dark Magician."

"That's right." He was handed a piece of paper. "Guess I still have to list all the cards I'm running, huh? Okay. Um, is there a place where we can do that?"

"If you can't get it done today, don't worry; we'll still be accepting deck lists tomorrow before the start of the tournament."

"That makes it a bit easier, I guess. Joey, you're up."

Joey stepped up to the registration table. "Name's Joey Wheeler, runner-up at Duelist Kingdom and fourth place in Battle City."

"Joey Wheeler….Beast-Warrior deck specializing in supporting Red Eyes Black Dragon?"

"The one and only." He was handed a deck list. "Oh, this baby's gonna be full by the time you get it back tomorrow."

Curtis was next. "Name?"

"Curtis Miller. I'm still just a newbie, so I might not be in your database."

The registration officer scanned the database. "Well, you became a registered duelist following your purchase of a KaibaCorp duel disk, but the deck you're running isn't listed. What deck are you using?"

"A Six Samurai deck." The registration officer typed away at the keyboard, before handing him a deck list. "Thanks."

As Curtis made his way through the crowd to catch up with his friends, he scanned the deck list. It was separated into different sections – his Main Deck itself was also separated into three sections, one each for his Monster, Spell, and Trap Cards; below those were sections for his Side Deck and Extra Deck. There were a grand total of 90 spaces – twenty for each type of card for his Main Deck, fifteen for his Side Deck, and fifteen for his Extra Deck.

"Quick question," he asked Yugi as he caught up to them. "What if I have more cards than the allotted spots? I mean, what if I have more than twenty Spell Cards, or something like that?"

"Well, you could always continue the list on the back," Yugi said. "The judges count them."

"Well, look who it is," a high pitched, nasally voice called out. The voice belonged to another boy, about their age, wearing thick, wide-rimmed glasses, and his hair was cut short and combed out into a bowl cut.

"Who's that?" Curtis asked.

"That's Weevil Underwood," Tristan answered. "He was the regional champion a couple of years ago."

"And when it came time for Duelist Kingdom, he was the first one to be sent home after Yugi whooped his butt," Joey added. "Of course, he deserved it for destroying Yugi's Exodia cards."

"Still sour about that?" Weevil asked in a mocking tone.

"You destroyed some of my grandfather's prized cards," Yugi shot back. "That's not exactly something someone forgets, not like losing a duel."

"And each of those defeats was deserved too, you cheat," Joey sneered. He leaned over to Curtis. "I'd watch this guy if I were you, Curt. He's got a bad habit of sabotaging an opponent's deck before a duel to make it so that he has the upper hand. It's how I ended up getting that Parasite Paracide card."

"You wound me, Joey Wheeler."

"The truth hurts, don't it?"

Another boy approached them, this one wearing a dark beanie cap over his messy black hair. "Not as much as getting thrashed, eh, Weevil?"

"Surprise, surprise," Tristan said dryly. "Where there's Weevil, there's Rex Raptor."

"Did you think I'd miss a chance like this?" Rex asked. "Rumor has it that the one who goes all the way to the top gets the chance to duel Pegasus himself."

"And you believe it?" Curtis's mother asked.

"Whether it's true or not, lady, is something I'm going to find out for myself," Rex answered. "So prepare yourselves to get stomped by my dinosaur monsters."

"Not if my deep sea denizens wash them away first," said a tall muscular man. "Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler, pleasure to see you again, friends."

"Hey Mako. How've you been?" Yugi greeted.

"You know this guy?" Curtis asked.

"Mako Tsunami," the man answered. "I specialize in water-based monsters."

"Which works in the water, but we're on dry land, so your fish are just seafood for my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth," Weevil taunted.

"Not if my Fortress Whale has anything to say about it," Mako shot back.

"Fortress Whale is a Ritual Monster, so even if you had Fortress Whale's Oath and the proper materials in your hand or the field, you'd still have to have the actual monster in your hand to summon it," Rex reminded him.

"Don't tell me how my own monster works, Raptor," Mako hissed. "And if I remember correctly, my whale washed your little dinosaurs back to extinction."

"Is this a common occurrence?" Stephanie asked.

"Between duelists? Sometimes," Yugi answered.

"And if you ask me," a woman's voice said, "it's kind of childish."

That voice belonged to a tall, beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair, dressed in a white tube top and low-cut purple jacket. Like the other duelists, a duel disk was strapped to her arm. Curtis couldn't help but stare as she walked over to them, her hips rolling with each step. He found himself scanning her gorgeous body, his teenage hormones briefly taking over his thoughts.

"Nice to see you again, Mai," Joey greeted.

"Somehow, I knew you and Yugi would be here, at least," Mai said. She pointed a thumb in Curtis's direction. "So, who's the tagalong?"

Curtis blinked and shook his head, hoping that no one would notice that he had briefly spaced out while checking out Mai's body. "I'm Curtis. First tournament here; just started playing the game."

"A novice, huh? Well, I'll be honest, I'd be surprised if you make it past Round One, newbie."

"Some encouragement would be nice," Stephanie said.

"It's rare that a noob lasts longer than Round One," Rex said. "You could say Joey's the exception, but then again, he's always had Yugi there holding his hand."

"How about that hand break your face apart, Rex!" Joey screamed.

Tea put herself between them, keeping them from coming to blows. "If you two are going to fight, save it for the tournament and let your cards do the fighting, okay? I don't think anyone wants to get thrown out before the first round tomorrow."

Yugi checked the time on his phone. "Speaking of which, I think we'd better get going. We have an early start tomorrow, so I think it'd be a good idea to get to the hotel and fill out our deck lists."

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Rex grumbled. "See you posers for Round One tomorrow."

The other duelists dispersed. Curtis took just a brief second to eyeball Mai again.


	5. Opening Ceremonies

**OPENING CEREMONIES**

The Blue Eyes White Jet touched down on the runway. The lights on the tarmac guided him in; night had fallen less than an hour ago. Seto would have been here sooner, were it not for that meeting going longer than anticipated. Mokuba had gone ahead of him, both to secure a deck list for him, and to make sure that the hotel suite he'd booked last week was still available.

Much like with his Duel Monsters deck, Seto would settle for nothing less than absolute perfection.

And part of that perfection was the limousine waiting for him as he climbed off his own private plane.

"Welcome to New York City, Mr. Kaiba," the driver said as Seto stepped onto the pavement. "Pleasant trip?"

"Just give me an update. Is everything ready for me?"

"Yes sir," the driver said as he opened the door. "Your little brother has already prepared everything for your arrival."

 _Leave it to Mokuba_ , Seto thought as he climbed into the back of the car.

As the car left the airport, Seto opened the silver briefcase he always carried with him. This briefcase held hundreds upon hundreds of cards; many of them were duplicates of ones he had in his deck or his private display case back home, but some of them were among the rarest cards in the game. Out of all the people in the world, the only ones who had ever seen these cards were him and Maximillian Pegasus. It made sense, considering that Pegasus was the game's creator. Rumor had it that he based the game on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics he had seen on an archaeological excursion to the area.

How the game came to be didn't matter to Seto Kaiba. All that mattered was that the game existed, and in order to create the holographic technology which brought the monsters on the cards to life, he had to learn every aspect of the game, from the very beginning to the most recent summoning techniques, such as Pendulum and Link Summoning. Link Summoning was the most recent summoning technique introduced to the game, debuting over the summer, and Seto had quickly set to work learning how it worked while also learning the new layout of the duel field, assuming he were going to be playing tabletop.

But these days, who played tabletop anymore? Even casual players of the game owned a duel disk, and some of the old, cumbersome dueling arenas were still in use in places around the world.

The phone rang. Seto closed the briefcase and pressed a button on the phone console, putting it on Speaker. "Kaiba."

"Hey, big bro," Mokuba's voice came through the other end. "Got everything ready for you."

"Good. Any trouble?"

"Not unless you count the hotel receptionist forgetting which suite you'd reserved."

"Idiots," Seto grumbled. "I'll be there soon, Mokuba."

"It's Suite Three on the tenth floor," Mokuba said. "See you when you get here."

#################################

Yugi, Curtis, and Joey had spent the last twenty minutes filling out their deck lists. Curtis had decided to fill his out with pencil, after seeing Joey scratch out several of his card names with that pen he was using. At least with a pencil the mistakes wouldn't be as obvious, and the deck list wouldn't look as sloppy.

"How's it coming, you guys?" Yugi asked. He looked over his deck list; every spot had been filled out, all his cards listed.

"Almost done," Curtis answered. "Just have to fill out my side deck."

"Wish I had some white out; it'd make this thing look a heck of a lot better," Joey mused.

"Well that's your own fault for using a pen," Tristan snarked.

"Bite me, Tristan."

Curtis looked at his deck list, then flipped through his deck, making sure he had marked down every card he had – all sixty cards in his Main Deck, the five cards for his Extra Deck, and his fifteen card Side Deck. Before he began filling out his list, he swapped some cards from his deck for some new cards he picked up earlier in the week – a Trap Card called Dark Mirror Force and three Twin Twisters Spell Cards. Dark Mirror Force was a Mirror Force variant that banished the user's opponent's Defense Position monsters, and Twin Twisters destroyed up to two Spell or Trap Cards on the user's opponent's side of the field at the cost of sending one card from the hand to the Graveyard.

"Alright, I'm all set," Joey announced. "Ready for tomorrow."

"The tournament starts at ten A.M. tomorrow," Yugi said, "so we've got some time if anyone wants to play a quick game. You know, just to make sure we're ready."

"I'm up for it," Curtis said. "Hey Joey, want to duel?"

"You sure about that? Why not duel Yugi? Winner can take me on."

"Because the last time you and I dueled, I…wasn't exactly myself. But now, you can play the real me."

"You're not going to be using your duel disks in here, are you?" his mother asked, taking her eyes off of the ESPN coverage of the tournament.

"No, Mom," Curtis answered. "Tabletop." He and Joey moved a small stand between the two beds and set up their decks, shuffling and cutting as they prepared for their game. "Who wants to keep score?"

"I guess I will," Stephanie offered. Yugi handed her a notepad and a pencil. "You guys start with 8000 points, right?"

"That's right," Joey answered. "Okay, Curtis, you want to go first?"

"Why not." He picked up five cards from the top of his deck. They were The Six Samurai – Kizan, Shien's Advisor, Kagemusha of the Six Samurai, Shien's Footsoldier, and Scrolls of the Six Samurai. He glanced up at Joey; judging by the grimace on Joey's face, he didn't care for his hand.

"I guess I'll start off by summoning The Six Samurai – Kizan, in Attack Position, and then pass my turn over to you."

Joey picked up another card and winced. "Man, I totally bricked," he grumbled. "But I can at least put these three cards down for later." He set three cards in his Spell and Trap Zone.

"Let me see," Tristan said as he moved over to look at Joey's hand. "Oh! Ow."

"Yeah, I noticed."

Curtis drew a new card, Elder of the Six Samurai. "Wow, no monsters?"

"None that I can summon right now," Joey muttered.

"Ouch. Well, I can do this. I summon Shien's Advisor in Attack Position. When he's Normal Summoned, I can name one monster type, and monsters that fall under that category can't attack. I know you have a Red Eyes Black Dragon, so I'm going to name Dragons."

"But that effect goes away when Shien's Advisor is destroyed, doesn't it?" Stephanie asked.

"Not like that's gonna happen any time soon," Joey replied. "Go ahead, hit me."

"Okay, double direct attack, and Joey is out a grand total of 3000 Life Points," Curtis announced.

"That puts the score at Curtis with 8000 and Joey with 5000," Stephanie said.

"I'm going to go into Main Phase Two now," Curtis said. "By playing this Spell Card, Six Scrolls of the Samurai. This lets me tribute two Six Samurai monsters to Special Summon Great Shogun Shien from my deck." He moved his two monsters to the Graveyard, flipped through his deck, and brought out the proper monster, placing it in the Monster Zone. With the monster out on the field, Curtis shuffled his deck. "Okay, Joey, it's your turn."

Joey drew a new card, and rolled his eyes. "Damn it."

"What's wrong, Joey?" Curtis's mother asked.

Joey showed her his hand. "I can't summon these guys; they're too powerful. My deck hates me right now. Might as well pass my turn, Curt."

The card Curtis drew was The Six Samurai – Kamon. "I'm going to summon Kagemusha of the Six Samurai in Attack Position, and then perform another double direct attack for a total of 2900 Life Points."

Stephanie performed the math. "That brings Joey down to 2100 points."

Joey reached for his deck. "Give me something good, darn it." He drew his card. "That's a little better. I summon Panther Warrior in Attack Position, and then equip him with the Equip Spell Lightning Blade. I still need to summon another monster to use as a tribute so he can attack, but now that he's sitting at 2800 Attack Points, at least your guys won't kill him."

"At least you're finally on the board," Curtis said as he drew a new card – Shien's Smoke Signal. "I play the Spell Card Shien's Smoke Signal to add one Level Three or lower Six Samurai monster from my deck to my hand, and the monster I choose is Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai. I'm going to summon him, and then use him and Kagemusha as materials to Synchro Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En."

"He can do that?" Stephanie asked.

"Kagemusha is a Tuner monster, which is the main material for a Synchro Summon," Yugi explained. "And when you Synchro Summon, the levels of the material monsters have to equal the level of the monster you want to bring out."

"That's all I'm doing, since it would be suicide to attack your Panther Warrior," Curtis said. "Your turn, Joey."

Joey drew a new card, and grinned. "Finally. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Position, and use him as a tribute so my Panther Warrior can attack your Shi En."

"I activate Shi En's effect," Curtis countered. "If Shi En is going to be attacked, I can change your target to another monster I control. Sorry, Shogun." He moved Great Shogun Shien to the Graveyard as Stephanie performed the math.

"So the score is now Curtis at 7700 to Joey's 2100."

"My turn," Curtis said as he drew a card. "I send Elder of the Six Samurai to the Garveyard to activate the effect of the Twin Twisters Spell Card, to destroy your Lightning Blade and bring your Panther Warrior back down to 2000 Attack Points. Next, I summon The Six Samurai – Kamon, in attack Position. Shi En attacks and destroys your Panther Warrior, and Kamon attacks directly, bringing you down to 0."

"That might not have happened if I hadn't bricked in the first couple of turns," Joey said as they cleaned up their cards.

"It happens to the best of us, Joey," Yugi consoled him.

"As long as it doesn't happen in the tournament, I'm good."

################################

Seto was at the stadium long before the television crews began to arrive. He had wanted to make sure that he was the first person in the room, if not the whole building, if only for everyone – duelist, spectators, and commentators alike – to know that he was there. He was sure that rumor was going around that he was going to be here, but how many of them believed those rumors? That was the question.

Well, there was no question that he was going to be here. Pegasus had personally invited him himself, if only to help him show off the new Link Summoning technique. He had practiced last night with Mokuba, just to make sure he had the whole thing down pat.

The doors were set to open for spectators at nine A.M., which was fast approaching; it was already 8:30, and as he had expected, crews from ESPN and Fox Sports were already setting up.

"Mr. Seto Kaiba," a reporter from ESPN called to him. "Would it be okay with you if we got a quick interview?"

"As long as it really is quick," Seto answered.

"It'll just take a couple minutes of your time, Mr. Kaiba," the reporter said. "Hey Frank, is that camera set up?"

"Set up and broadcasting to the studio, Jim. Begin when ready."

Jim cleared his throat, then started speaking. "We're here at Madison Square Garden where Maximillian Pegasus's Rose Duelist tournament is set to begin in just over an hour, and the first duelist has already arrived. Mr. Seto Kaiba, what are your thoughts on Mr. Pegasus holding this tournament so close to the holiday season?"

"When it's held is none of my concern," Seto answered. "All that matters is that the duelists who are coming from far and wide bring their A-game, because chances are they'll be facing off against me, and as anyone who has had the misfortune of dueling against me can attest, I do not pull my punches."

"Well, they don't call you the world's greatest duelist for nothing, Mr. Kaiba," Jim said. "Next question, sir: What can you tell us about these rumors that Mr. Pegasus also wishes to demonstrate the new summoning technique that was introduced to the game earlier this summer?"

"Even if he doesn't, I will. I've already rebuilt my deck to include materials to aid in the new Link Summoning, and if he doesn't show it off, I gladly will. Of course, my New Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon will still be the monsters my opponents need to watch out for, though they _can_ rest slightly easier knowing that Link Summoning is the only way to bring out more than one Extra Deck monster."

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting," Jim said. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Kaiba. This may not be as grand as your Battle City, but we sure are looking forward to it. Back to you in the studio."

#####################################

It was nearing 9:30 by the time they got to the stadium. As expected, the room was full of both spectators and duelists, and the chatter made it incredibly hard to hear anything. The duelists were directed to sit on the sidelines while everyone else went into the bleachers to watch.

All that was left was to wait, which was fine by Joey; it gave him time to finish that breakfast sandwich from the concession stand.

Half an hour later, two people walked out into the middle of the stadium. Curtis immediately recognized Seto Kaiba – there was no mistaking that tall, confident posture, not to mention that scowl – but the other man, he had never seen before. This man was about as tall as Seto, but dressed in a bright red suit and to contrast Seto's short brown hair, this man had long platinum blonde hair, and had an eyepatch on over his right eye.

The man in the red suit spoke up in a posh, almost British-sounding voice.

"Greetings, duelists and spectators. I am your host Maximillian Pegasus, and welcome to the opening duel of the Rose Duelist tournament! This tournament will determine who will be named the Duelist of the Roses, and just in time for Christmas, too. And to start things off, yours truly will give you a treat by dueling the world champion, Seto Kaiba!"

The room was filled with the sound of cheers and applause as Seto and Pegasus faced each other from opposite ends of the court.

"Always having to make a show, aren't you, you pompous jackass?" Seto jeered as he activated his duel disk.

Pegasus readied his own duel disk. "Well, that's what the good people in the stands came here for, Kaiba-boy. And I shall give you the pleasure of making the first move."

"Suit yourself," Seto said as the two duelists drew five cards. Seto didn't care too much for his hand, since he just had five Spell Cards – Summoner's Art, Twin Twisters, Temple of the Mind's Eye, and two copies of Melody of Awakening Dragon. But then again, two of those cards could come in handy, maybe three of them.

"I'll begin by playing Summoner's Art to add one Level Five or higher monster from my deck to my hand." He played the card in the Spell and Trap Zone before sorting through his deck. "And the monster I choose is Linkslayer."

"Not going for your precious dragon, Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus taunted.

"Give it a minute," Seto said as he shuffled his deck. "Next, I'll play two Melody of Awakening Dragon Spell Cards to add up to four dragons with 3000 or more Attack Points and 2500 or less Defense Points from my deck to my hand at the cost of discarding two cards to the Graveyard, so I'll toss Twin Twisters and Temple of the Mind's Eye. And the dragons I choose are my three Blue Eyes White Dragons and the Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon." He found the proper cards, shuffled his deck, and moved the two Spell Cards to the Graveyard. "To end my turn, I'll reveal one of my Blue Eyes White Dragons to Special Summon Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon." The crowd cheered, many gasped, as a large dragon appeared on the field. It was a slightly darker shade of white than the normal Blue Eyes White Dragon, with blue lines and highlights running along its body. The dragon roared at Pegasus, who simply smiled up at it.

"I do believe it's my turn, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said as he drew a card. "I set one card face down." He placed a card in the Spell and Trap Zone. "Next, I'll summon Dark Rabbit in Attack Mode." He played his monster, and a tall dark rabbit with a goofy expression on his face appeared. The rabbit blew a raspberry at the dragon, which growled in return.

"Why would he summon such a weak monster to go against a dragon that powerful?" Curtis wondered. "It doesn't make sense."

"Not unless Pegasus is baiting him," Yugi guessed. "Maybe that card he played face down was a Trap Card, in which case, Kaiba's gonna wish he hadn't gotten rid of that Twin Twisters."

"It's your move, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said.

Seto drew a new card, the Trap Card Quaking Mirror Force. "I'll put this one face down," he announced as he set it in the Spell and Trap Zone. "And I'll use my Alternative White Dragon's special effect to destroy your rabbit at the cost of not being able to attack this turn."

Pegasus grinned. "I don't think so, Kaiba-boy," he said as he activated his face down card. "You remember what the Dragon Capture Jar does, right?" The dragon was sucked into the jar that materialized on the field. "It puts all Dragon monsters into Defense Position."

Seto growled. "Fine. It's your move."

Pegasus drew a new card. "I guess I'll go ahead and tribute my Dark Rabbit for the Illusionist Faceless Mage." The rabbit faded away, replaced with a tall, faceless humanoid creature with two puppet heads on its shoulders. "Since your dragon is still technically on your side of the field, and its Defense Points are more than my mage's Attack Points, I still can't attack, so I shall pass the turn on to you."

Seto glared at the card he just drew. Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon wasn't going to do him much good while that Dragon Capture Jar was still on the field – and given that it was a Continuous Trap, it was going to remain until he found a way to destroy it; he was starting to regret tossing Twin Twisters in the first turn.

But then again, while visually Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon was trapped in that jar, it was still technically on his side of the field, just in Defense Position, so he could tribute it for another Level Five or Six monster, and it just so happened that he had a Level Five monster in his hand.

"I tribute my Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon to summon Linkslayer in Attack Position." A new monster appeared on Seto's side of the field, a strange humanoid creature wearing what looked like yellow armor and surrounded by some sort of electricity. "Now, Linkslayer, attack and destroy Illusionist Faceless Mage." Linkslayer slashed its electric swords, cutting down the mage and dropping Pegasus's Life Points to 7200. "Next, I'll use Linkslayer's special ability to send two cards from my hand to destroy your Dragon Capture Jar." He put two of his three Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in the Graveyard, and the Dragon Capture Jar shattered. "Your turn."

Pegasus picked up a new card. He grinned and chuckled.

That chuckle turned into a laugh.

"I think I know where this is going," Seto grumbled.

"You do, but do our adoring audience?" Pegasus asked. "Friends from all across the globe, get ready to enter a world of pure imagination!"

"Just get on with it, Willy Wonka," Seto snarked.

"I pay 1000 Life Points to activate Toon World!" Pegasus's Life Points dropped to 6200 as a large, cartoonish-looking book appeared on the dueling field.

"Yup, saw this coming," Joey said.

"And now," Pegasus continued, "I can Special Summon a very dear friend. Say hello to the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon."

The monster that appeared looked like a smaller version of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but much less menacing and imposing. Like the book, it looked like a cartoon brought to life. The dragon chuckled at Seto, before turning its attention to Linkslayer.

"And now, I enter my Battle Phase and attack your Linkslayer," Pegasus announced.

Blue Eyes Toon Dragon prepared to fire a beam of energy from its mouth.

"Not so fast!" Seto yelled. "By declaring an attack, I activate my Trap Card, Quaking Mirror Force! This card forces you to put your monster in the face-down Defense Position, and there it will stay until it's destroyed." The Toon Dragon roared as its body vibrated, like it were in an earthquake, before disappearing, being replaced by a face-down card. "And now, I believe it's my turn." He drew a card, the Spell Card Return of the Dragon Lords. "I'll play the card I just drew, Return of the Dragon Lords. This card lets me Special Summon one Level Seven or Eight Dragon monster in my Graveyard to the field, and I'll bring back my Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon." The Alternative White Dragon returned to the field; it towered over Linkslayer. "Alternative White Dragon, attack and destroy that face-down card." The Alternative White Dragon launched a stream of energy from its mouth, obliterating the face-down Toon Dragon. "Linkslayer, direct attack!"

Pegasus cried out in pain as Linkslayer's electric blades cut into his body, dropping his Life Points down to 4200.

Pegasus took a moment to catch his breath while also listening to the crowd cheer and applause. He didn't care if he lost; all that mattered was that the people in the stands enjoyed the show. And even if he _did_ care, without his Millennium Eye, he wasn't able to see what Kaiba was holding or know what he was thinking.

"It's my move," he said as he drew a new card. "I'll place one monster in Defense Position and end my turn."

"I'm surprised it's not one of those godforsaken toons," Seto said as he pulled a new card from the top of his deck. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in Attack Position." A monster that looked like it was literally made of hands appeared next to Linkslayer; both monsters were sitting between the Alternative White Dragon's feet. "Next, I'll perform two Special Summons."

"Two?" Pegasus repeated.

"What, he gonna bring out that Ultimate Dragon of his?" Joey asked.

"If I know Kaiba, he's got something else up his sleeve," Yugi answered.

"First, I'll use Manju's special ability to search my deck for a Ritual Spell or monster," Seto announced. He searched through his deck. "And the card I choose is the Ritual Spell Chaos Form." He shuffled his deck after finding the right card. "And now, I'll play it."

"You know you need a Ritual monster in your hand and at least one additional monster as a tribute," Pegasus reminded him.

"Don't tell me how my own cards work!" Seto screamed. "I play Chaos Form and use the last Blue Eyes White Dragon in my hand to Ritual Summon the Ritual Monster in my hand, the Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon!" Several chains shot up from the floor and twisted around each other. A second later, they shattered, and in their place was a dragon much larger than even the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It was so large that its head nearly reached the roof of the stadium, and several people in the stands hand to duck to avoid getting hit by the dragon's enormous wings. Like the Alternative White Dragon, this white dragon was studded with blue highlights, some giving its wings and the back of its head an almost feathered look.

"That's Special Summon number one," Seto said. "Next, I'll demonstrate the new summoning technique that you yourself created this summer."

"You don't mean….You're going to perform a Link Summon?" Pegasus asked.

"What's a Link Summon?" Curtis asked Yugi.

"It's a new summoning technique that was introduced this summer," Yugi explained. "It's really the only way to bring out any monsters from your Extra Deck, since the field was changed up to go along with it. You can only use one Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ monster now, unless you have a Link Monster and it points to a spot where you can use another Extra Deck monster."

"And we're going to see it in action right now?" Joey asked. "Never thought I'd say this about rich boy Kaiba, but I kind of want to see where he's going with this."

"The monster I'm going to Link Summon," Seto announced, "requires three Effect Monsters to use as materials. So I send Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, Linkslayer, and Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon to the Graveyard to Link Summon Decode Talker!" The three monsters faded away. In their place was a man in dark armor with a long sword. Both the armor and the sword were brimming with electricity.

"Decode Talker, huh?" Pegasus mused. "The first Link Monster I created."

"And you may know what he does, but not many other people do," Seto said. "He gains 500 Attack Points for each monster he points to, and since he's currently pointing to my Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon, that brings him up from 2300 Attack Points to 2800 Attack Points. Also, Link Monsters don't have Defense Points, so he stays in Attack Position. And now that my two Special Summons are done, I'm going to enter the final Battle Phase of this duel."

"He sounds so confident," Curtis said.

"Why shouldn't he? He's got two powerful monsters on his field," Yugi replied. "Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon is especially dangerous because it can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects, and if it attacks a monster that's in Defense Position, it does double piercing damage."

"Which I'm sure will leave some scars on Pegasus," Joey figured.

"Blue Eyes Chaos Max Dragon!" Seto yelled. "Attack and destroy Pegasus's face-down monster!" Chaos Max fired a burst of energy from its mouth, destroying Pegasus's face-down monster, the Dark Illusionist. Since it had 1400 Defense Points, and Chaos Max did double piercing damage on defending monsters, Pegasus lost a grand total of 5200, which brought Pegasus's Life Points down to 0. "Well, look at that. I only needed to bring him out. Looks like I Link Summoned Decode Talker for nothing."

"Not exactly, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said as the monsters faded from the field. "You were at least able to show off Link Summoning." He turned to the audience. "Did you enjoy that?" The audience's response was to applaud and cheer. "Well, there's even more exciting duels to come. The standings have been chosen, and Round One, featuring Curtis Miller facing off against Weevil Underwood, will begin soon."

Curtis immediately felt his stomach tighten into a knot. Him, facing off against Weevil Underwood? He couldn't help but feel nervous; not only was Weevil a former regional champion, but if what Joey told him yesterday was true, then he would have to make sure to keep a close eye on his deck.

He had no idea how that duel was going to turn out. All he could do was follow the Pharaoh's advice and trust in the Heart of the Cards.


	6. The Insect King

**THE INSECT KING**

Curtis couldn't help but feel nervous as he stood in the center of the stadium. He didn't mind that he had nearly twenty thousand people looking at him; what tightened his stomach into a knot was that he was going up against someone who, according to Yugi and Joey, had once been a regional champion. That meant that Weevil had to be a good duelist. Sure, Joey had told him that Weevil liked to sabotage an opponent's deck to give him the upper hand, and as such Curtis had kept his deck on him at all times, but Weevil was a former Duel Monsters champion, and Curtis was still a novice.

He took a deep breath as his opponents entered the stadium, standing opposite of him, duel disk strapped to his arm. Weevil was wearing a smug, confident grin on his face. It didn't help Curtis's nervousness much. He took a few seconds to shuffle his deck, before putting it back in the deck slot of the duel disk.

"Hello, newbie," Weevil said. "Ready to lose?"

"I don't plan on it," Curtis replied. "But if it happens, it happens."

Weevil chuckled. "Whatever monsters you're running, they're just going to become food for my insects. I hope you know that."

Curtis said nothing; just listened as the commentator announced "Round One of the tournament begins now! Duelists, draw your cards; Weevil Underwood is making the first move!"

Curtis and Weevil both set their Life Points to 8000, then drew five cards from their decks. Curtis had picked up Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, Shien's Daredevil, Shien's Smoke Signal, Temple of the Six, and Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai. Not a bad starting hand; of course, it all depended on what Weevil played.

"I'll start this off by summoning Ultimate Insect Level 3 in Attack Position," Weevil announced. He played his card; the duel disk's holographic imagers brought the monster, a large larva, to life. "Next, I'll put two cards face down, and end my turn."

Curtis drew a new card. It was The Six Samurai – Nisashi. "I'll begin by playing the Spell Card Shien's Smoke Signal to add one Level Three or lower Six Samurai monster from my deck to my hand," he announced. "And the monster I choose is Spirit of the Six Samurai." He searched his deck for the proper card, added it to his hand, and shuffled his deck before putting it back in the deck slot of his duel disk. "Next, I'll summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan in Attack Position, and then equip him with the Spirit of the Six Samurai I just added to my hand, increasing his Attack Points to 2300. To end Main Phase 1, I'll play the Field Spell Card Temple of the Six. Now, every time I summon a Six Samurai monster, I add a Bushido Counter to this card, and for each Counter, your monsters lose 100 Attack Points." He looked at Weevil's bug; it had only 1400 Attack Points. If he attacked, Weevil would lose 900 Life Points and be brought down to 7100, but then again, there were those two face down cards in his Spell and Trap Card Zone. Curtis had no way of knowing what they were; he didn't trust them.

He wanted to draw first blood – metaphorically speaking, of course – but what if Weevil had a Mirror Force variant down there?

 _Might as well take that chance,_ Curtis thought. "Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan will attack your bug." Kizan swung his sword, cutting the larva in half and decreasing Weevil's Life Points to 7100.

"Not bad," Weevil complimented him as he drew a new card. "I set one card face down, and then I'll activate the Trap Card DNA Surgery. I name one monster type, and all face-up monsters on the field become that type, and I name Insects!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Curtis asked.

"But that's not all," Weevil continued. "Since now your Samurai is an Insect monster, I activate this continuous Spell Card, Insect Barrier." A yellow grid of light appeared around Weevil. "Now Insect monsters can't attack me until this card is destroyed."

"Son of a bitch."

"I'll end my turn there. You're up."

"Looks like the new guy's in a pickle," the commentator said. "Hope he's got a Twin Twisters or Mystical Space Typhoon buried in that deck somewhere, or he's lost this duel already."

 _Tell me something I don't already know,_ Curtis silently grumbled as he pulled a new card from the top of his deck. "Well, how about that," he said as he looked at the card he just drew. "I'm going to play the card I just picked up, the Spell Card Twin Twisters. By discarding one card, in this case Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai, I can destroy up to two Spell and Trap Cards on your side of the field, and since you have two – your Insect Barrier and whatever your face-down is – they're gone." The two cards were hit with a tornado, destroying them; the barrier of light faded away from around Weevil. "Next, I summon Shien's Daredevil in Attack Position and add a Bushido Counter to my Field Spell. But I'm not done yet. Next, I'm going to perform an XYZ summon. I overlay Shien's Daredevil and Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan, to XYZ Summon Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien." A new Samurai appeared on the field as Curtis placed the proper XYZ card in the correct space. "That's another Bushido Counter onto my Field Spell, and Shien attacks you directly." Shien slashed, dropping Weevil's Life Points down to 4600. "Your turn."

"Talk about a stroke of luck," the announcer called as Weevil drew a new card. "Let's see Weevil's response."

Weevil grinned as he scanned the three cards in his hand. "I summon Petit Moth in Defense Position," he said. A small green caterpillar appeared on the field. "Next, I'll equip it with the Cocoon of Evolution." The Petit Moth sprayed itself in silk, covering itself in a massive cocoon. "Now, in five turn, the cocoon will hatch into my most powerful monster, the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth."

"Your Cocoon of Evolution only has 2000 Defense Points," Curtis pointed out. "My Samurai can easily cut it to ribbons."

"Not if I set this," Weevil countered as he put a card face down in the Spell and Trap Card Zone. "Your move."

Curtis drew the Trap Card Shien's Scheme. "I set one card face down, and then I summon The Six Samurai – Nisashi in Attack Position and add a third Bushido Counter to Temple of the Six. Since I don't trust your face-down, I'll end my turn here."

"Then all I'll do is draw one card and pass my turn to you," Weevil said as he drew a card. "That's one turn down."

Curtis picked up a new card – the Trap Card Skull Dice. "Okay, I don't want to wait any longer, and whatever your face-down is, at least I'll have gotten you to get rid of it. So, Shadow of the Six Samurai, attack!"

Weevil chuckled. "I activate my Trap Card, Negate Attack, stopping your Samurai's attack and ending the Battle Phase."

"Damn. Your move."

Weevil picked up a new card. "I set one card face down, and that's two turns down. Three more to go."

"Curtis had better come up with something soon," the commentator said. "Three turns isn't much time."

Curtis ignored him as he drew a new card – Dark Mirror Force. "I'll hold onto this for later, and try to attack again. Go, Shien!"

Weevil glared at Curtis as Shien sliced the cocoon in half, spewing bug juices on the floor, and revealing the massive wing of a large green moth.

"You stopped the incubation process early!" Weevil cried. "The Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth wasn't finished yet!"

"Boo freaking hoo," Curtis mocked Weevil. "Nisashi, direct attack!" Nisashi slashed at Weevil, dropping his Life Points from 4600 to 3200. "And for Main Phase 2, I'll set one face down and pass the turn to you."

Weevil picked up a new card. "I set one monster in Defense Position and end my turn."

Curtis felt a wave of confidence flow through him as he drew a new card. "I just drew a monster, and I'm going to summon it. Bujingi Turtle, in Attack Position!" A turtle that looked like it was made of an ornate jewelry box appeared on the field next to Nisashi.

"That activates my Trap Card, Trap Hole!" Weevil called. A large hole appeared beneath Curtis's turtle, and the turtle plunged into the abyss.

"So much for the turtle," the commentator said.

"I can still attack," Curtis said. "Nisashi, destroy his face-down monster." Nisashi stabbed the holographic card.

"That was my Cockroach Knight," Weevil said. "When he's destroyed, he goes to the top of my deck instead of the Graveyard."

"Yeah, well, since I control a Six Samurai monster with a different name, Nisashi can attack twice, so Nisashi, Shien, double direct attack!" The two Samurai slashed at Weevil, bringing his Life Points down to 0.

"Wow!" the commentator cried. "Talk about a clean sweep! Curtis didn't lose a single Life Point! Curtis Miller is the winner!"

"How?!" Weevil cried.

"You were a regional champion?" Curtis asked incredulously as he gathered up his cards. "Well, you sure don't look like one right now. I guess if you don't have a chance at subterfuge you can't win, can you?"

"Hey, quiet!" Weevil shouted.

"You know I'm right," Curtis said. "If you don't have a chance to cheat, you can't hope to win. Take some advice from a noob and learn to play the game right."

Weevil said nothing; just glared at Curtis.

"Round Two will begin momentarily," the commentator called. "Yugi Moto against Mai Valentine."

##################################

Ten minutes later, Curtis was sitting on the sidelines with Joey. He had spent the first several minutes after the duel talking to some reporters from ESPN and Fox Sports about the duel, and since he had never been on TV before – and he knew that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people watching him through those cameras – he again couldn't help but feel nervous.

The questions he'd been asked were simple ones: "How does it feel winning the first round of the tournament?" "What were your strategies?" "Do you see yourself being in Weevil's former spot as a champion?" He'd given simple answers, like "It's a bit of a confidence boost for someone who's only been playing for six months", and "No, I don't think I'll ever end up going that far", and now that it was over, he could finally relax and wait for Yugi and Mai to start playing.

"Great game, dude," Joey complimented him.

"Thanks, Joey. Wasn't expecting to win, at least not like that. So, Yugi and Mai are next, right?"

"Yup. Should be a good duel. Mai's a great duelist; wait till you see her in action."

Curtis checked the time on his phone. There were only five minutes until 11:00. The duel was set to start then.


	7. Checking In

**CHECKING IN**

Jefferson Hewitt sat on the sidelines. He had no idea when he was set to duel, or who he would be competing against; all he knew was that this kid, Curtis Miller, showed some promise. It was rare to see someone so fresh to this game beat a former regional champion, and yet here this kid was, beat Weevil Underwood while not losing a single Life Point. It was amazing.

Of course, this boy was still competition. He was still someone who could get in the way of his true goals. Maximillian Pegasus was still in the building, and no doubt watching from the view box after his duel with Seto Kaiba. He still had yet to find out if the duelist who got to the very end of the tournament got to play Pegasus, but he was sure he would learn the truth soon.

And if Kaiba could beat the creator of the game, then Jefferson – then "Pandora" – was sure he could as well.

He turned his attention back to Curtis Miller, and thought back to when he first discovered the game. He was close to this boy's age when Pegasus debuted the game on ESPN, just after a showing of _The World Series of Poker._ For as much as he blamed Pegasus for his father's death in Egypt, even Jefferson had to admit that the game looked like fun to play. So when the time and money were right, he bought his first deck. Throughout the years, he learned all the new techniques, from the continuously updating summoning techniques to the subtle changes in the rules to some Spell and Trap Cards. He quickly picked up on the inner workings of Synchro, XYZ, and Pendulum Summons, and had just recently learned how Link Summoning worked.

Going by the commentary provided during that last duel, this boy had just started playing the game six months ago. If he put his mind to it, a duelist could learn the entire game in that amount of time. And if his flawless performance against Weevil Underwood was any indication, this kid had learned everything up to when XYZ Summons were introduced; he had no way of knowing yet if Curtis was running any Pendulum or Link monsters. But he showed a lot of promise as a duelist. Then again, so did anyone who played well.

Of course, this kid was nowhere near the level of the next two duelists, Yugi Moto and Mai Valentine. Yugi was the first person to beat Pegasus at this game back during the Duelist Kingdom tournament on Pegasus's private island, and like Weevil Underwood, Mai had once gone to regionals and took third place in Duelist Kingdom. Her Harpie monsters were a force to be reckoned with. Especially if she were to combine her Harpie Lady with Cybershield, Elegant Egotist, and then summon Harpie's Pet Dragon. Jefferson had seen her play on TV a few times, so he knew how she worked.

And then there was Yugi Moto and his Dark Magician. When it came to Normal Monsters in the most recent meta game, Dark Magician, like Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon, was still a powerful card, though by itself it was just a 2500 Attack Point beatstick. Of course, he knew that Yugi had plenty of Spell and Trap Cards to support both it and its female variant Dark Magician Girl, and Dark Magician – at least for Yugi – was sometimes used as a tribute to Ritual Summon Magician of Black Chaos.

Maybe there was a chance they would see that monster in the next duel? Who knew, really. When it came to Duel Monsters, everything fell to the luck of the draw. While there was most certainly skill involved, that only accounted for about ninety percent of the game; the remaining ten percent was made up of pure dumb luck. After all, not even Seto Kaiba knew what his next card could be – he could top deck something like Chaos Emperor Dragon, Envoy of the End, or it could be the Flute of Summoning Dragon Spell Card.

Jefferson reached into the deck slot of his duel disk and pulled out his cards. He was using a Burning Abyss deck. Unlike most of the cards in the game, which were based on the hieroglyphics Pegasus saw during his trips to Egypt, the Burning Abyss deck was based on the classic tale of _Dante's Inferno_. Many of the monsters in the Main Deck were Level Three monsters with emphasis on bringing out the more powerful monsters, such as the Ritual Monster Malacoda, Netherlord of the Burning Abyss, and XYZ Summoning monsters such as Dante, Traveller of the Burning Abyss.

This particular deck was only a couple of years old, but that was more than enough time to Jefferson to learn the ins and outs of the deck and how it stacked up against other, much faster decks, like those godforsaken Zoodiacs that had only just recently started to become limited after causing him and so many other duelists many a headache. It didn't help that one turn of a Zoodiac deck could take upwards of twenty minutes, which was half the length of an official match.

He flipped through his deck. He wasn't sure who he was facing, but he was sure that each of these cards would come in handy.

He checked his watch. Five minutes till eleven. The next match was set to begin soon.


	8. Yugi vs Mai

**YUGI VS. MAI**

Yugi stood in the stadium, waiting for Mai to arrive. As he waited, he decided to look through his deck. Since Battle City, he had made a few small adjustments, and for this tournament, he had removed the Egyptian God Cards; besides the fact they were far too powerful for most duelists, he was sure it would be pretty difficult to bring them out, as each one required at least three tributes. Besides, in most tournaments, cards that powerful would be banned.

As he flipped through his deck, checking his cards, he heard a familiar voice.

 _Yugi, are you going to need my help with this duel?_

 _"_ _I don't think so, Pharaoh,"_ Yugi said mentally. _"I've dueled Mai before; I know how her deck works. But then again, she's full of surprises, so who knows what to expect with her."_

 _Just remember, I'm here if you need me._

 _"_ _I know. Thanks. And here comes Mai."_

Mai Valentine stepped into the stadium, duel disk strapped to her arm. "It's been a while since we last dueled, hasn't it, Yugi?" she asked.

"Not since Duelist Kingdom, I think," Yugi answered as he put his deck back into his duel disk. "Honestly, I've been looking forward to a rematch. I did enjoy our last duel, even if you had me on the ropes most of the time."

"And this time, I might be the one taking home the victory," Mai said as she activated her duel disk. "I think we agreed you'd be going first, Yugi?"

Yugi activated his duel disk. Both duelists set their Life Points to 8000. "Okay." He drew five cards: The Trap Card Seven Tools of the Bandit, the Spell Card Lucky Iron Axe, and three monsters – Double Coston, Curse of Dragonfire, and Yellow Gadget. "I'll start this duel by summoning Yellow Gadget in Attack Position." A small, yellow robot with a large gear attached to its back materialized on the board. "His special effect lets me search my deck for Green Gadget." He found the appropriate card and shuffled his deck. "Next, I'll equip my Yellow Gadget with Lucky Iron Axe, increasing his 1200 Attack Points to 1700. Finally, I'll put one card face down and end my turn."

Mai drew a new card and looked at her hand. "I'll set one card face down as well," she announced as she set a card face down in her Spell and Trap Zone, "and then I'll set a monster in Defense Position and end my turn."

 _She's not attacking?_ Yugi thought. _I was certain she'd have a Harpie monster out by now._ He drew a new card, the Spell Card Riryoku. "I summon Green Gadget in Attack Position." A smaller green robot appeared next to Yellow Gadget. "His special ability lets me search my deck for a Red Gadget." He added Red Gadget to his hand and shuffled. "Next, I overlay my two monsters to XYZ Summon Heavy Armored Train Ironwolf!" He overlapped his two gadget cards, represented visually by the two monsters coming together in a bright flash of light, which, after it faded, revealed a large train with a dog's face attached to the front. "I don't trust your face-down, so I'll pass my turn to you."

"How generous," Mai said as she drew a new card. "I summon Harpie Queen in Attack Position!" The monster she summoned looked like a tall, lovely woman with flowing green hair and dressed in a dark blue leotard, but with the addition of feathered wings for arms and eagle talons for feet. "Next, I Flip Summon my face-down monster, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon." This monster was a small red dragon wearing a gold chain around its neck. "Both these monsters have special abilities of their own. Harpie Queen is treated as a Harpie Lady when on the field and it lets me add a Harpie's Hunting Ground Field Spell from my deck to my hand." She searched her deck for the right card, then shuffled. "As for Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, it has different effects depending on how many Harpies I have on the field. If I have one Harpie, you can't target it, and since so far I only have one, you can't hit her. Its other effect is that I can destroy one monster on your side of the field once per turn, and I choose to use that effect to destroy your little tank engine!" Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon launched a fireball from its mouth. The fireball hit Ironwolf, incinerating it. "Next, I play Harpie's Hunting Ground. With this card, all Winged-Beast monsters gain 200 Attack and Defense Points, so my Harpie Queen goes from 1400 Attack Points to 1600. Now, Harpie Queen, attack Yugi directly!"

Yugi cried out as Harpie Queen's talons clawed at him, dropping him to 6400 Life Points. "My turn," he said as he drew a new card. It was the Ritual Monster, Magician of Black Chaos. This card wasn't going to do him much good until he got the Black Magic Ritual Spell Card, and he had no idea of knowing where in the deck that card was.

It was moments like this that made him wish he had invested in a card like Manju.

He did have three cards in his hand that could help him right now, though.

"I summon Double Coston in Attack Position," he announced. The monster that appeared on the field looked a small black ghost. "He can be used as up to two tributes for a DARK monster, but I only need to use him as one to Special Summon Curse of Dragonfire in Attack Positioin." The little ghost faded away, being replaced with a long, beaked dragon that looked like it was wreathed in flame. "Its special ability allows it to destroy a Field Spell, so I'm going to use it to destroy your Harpie's Hunting Ground. Next, I'll play the Spell Card Riryoku, to take 700 Attack Points from your Harpie Queen and add them to my dragon, increasing his Attack Points to 2700. Now, Curse of Dragonfire, destroy her Pet Dragon!"

"Not my Queen?" Mai asked.

"Your Pet Dragon's effect makes it the bigger threat," Yugi answered as the little dragon was immolated, and Mai's Life Points dropped to 6500.

"Wow, talk about a close game so far," the commentator announced to the spectators. "Mai's got 6500 Life Points, while Yugi has 6400 Life Points. Mai's leading by only a margin of 100 Life Points."

"My move," Mai said, ignoring the announcer. She drew a new card. "I play the Spell Card Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy your face-down." Harpie Queen waved her winged arm, sweeping away the face down card Yugi had in his Spell and Trap Zone.

"That was my Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Yugi gasped as the card was moved to his Graveyard.

"Next I'll play the Spell Card Elegant Egotist," Mai continued. "Since my Harpie Queen is treated as Harpie Lady, that allows me to use this Spell Card to Special Summon another Harpie Lady from the deck." Another Harpie woman appeared next to Harpie Queen. "Next, I'll perform my own XYZ Summon by overlaying my two Harpies to XYZ Summon Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon!" The two Harpies came together, fusing into a larger, darker red, more feral looking version of the previous Pet Dragon that was on the field earlier. "He may have the same amount of Attack Points as your dragon now that Riryoku's effect has worn off, but my Pet Phantasmal Dragon has another special effect: It can attack you directly! Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon, attack Yugi directly!"

Yugi winced as the dragon clawed at him, dropping his Life Points to 4400.

 _It's not looking good,_ he mentally said to the Pharaoh.

 _"_ _Do you want me to join in?"_

 _Kind of what I was implying, yeah._

His Millennium Puzzle glowed; the glow surrounded Yugi, and when it faded, Yugi was slightly taller and much more confident looking.

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, the Pharaoh, had taken over.

"A brilliant strategy, Mai," he complimented her.

"I'm not quite finished yet," Mai said. "At the end of my turn, I have to detach one XYZ material from my dragon and send it to the Graveyard, so I detach my Harpie Lady."

"Is it my move now?"

"Yeah."

Pharaoh drew a new card. He grinned when he saw what it was. "I play the Ritual Spell Card, Black Magic Ritual!" An altar appeared in the middle of the playing field, a large ring with two flaming torches on either side. "By using my Curse of Dragonfire and the Red Gadget in my hand as tributes, I Ritual Summon the Magician of Black Chaos!"

The two monsters – one on the field and one in Pharaoh's hand – were pulled into the ring, and out of it rose a tall man in tight black leather, wielding a long, thin scepter. Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon just stared at it while the audience gasped, oohed and awed, and applauded.

"Magician of Black Chaos, attack and destroy Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon!" A ball of dark magic was thrown from the Magician's scepter; the ball hit the dragon, obliterating it, and dropping Mai's Life Points down to 5700. "And now, Mai, I believe it's your move."

Mai didn't like the card she just pulled. Sure, at least one of the monsters in her hand could have helped her – Harpie's Pet Dragon in particular, since it gained 300 Attack Points for each Harpie Lady on the field, though at the moment there were none, so that was a bust – but they were too powerful; unless she pulled a card to help her Special Summon one of them from the hand, there was no way to get it or Harpie Empress out to the field. The card she drew was another Harpie Queen, and all it did was act as another Harpie Lady variant.

"I set a monster in Defense Position and end my turn."

Pharaoh picked up a new card. "I play the Spell Card I just pulled, Poison of the Old Man. This card has two effects I can choose from – either add 1200 Life Points to me or take 800 Life Points from you. I think I'll increase mine." His Life Points rose from 4400 to 5600.

He still couldn't believe how close this game was. Sure, that 5600 Life Points was thanks to the Spell Card he just played, but much like earlier, they were separated by a margin of only 100 Life Points, with Mai sitting at 5700.

"Next, I'll destroy your face-down monster," he continued. The Magician of Black Chaos slammed its scepter down onto the face down card, destroying it. "It's your move, Mai."

Mai pulled a new card. It was another Elegant Egotist, which wasn't going to help her much. "I hate my hand, so I play the Spell Card, Card of Sanctity, to banish all cards in my hand and then draw two." She moved the four cards in her hand to the Graveyard – making a mental note that they were now banished and therefore out of the game unless a card effect said otherwise – and drew two new cards, Harpie Harpist and the Spell Card Hysteric Sign. "I play Hysteric Sign to bring back the Harpie Lady and Harpie Queen from my Graveyard." The two Harpie monsters reappeared on the field. "And then I summon Harpie Harpist to the field." Another Harpie appeared, this one with long red hair and holding a harp. "When she's Normal Summoned, I can add one Winged-Beast monster and one monster you control back to the hand, so I'll return my Harpie Queen and your Magician of Black Chaos to our hands."

"That's going to leave me wide open!" Pharaoh gasped.

"That's the idea," Mai said as the two monsters left the field. "Now, Harpie Lady, attack!" Harpie Lady clawed at Pharaoh with her talons, dropping his Life Points to 4300. "Your turn."

With Black Magic Ritual in the Graveyard, there was no way for Pharaoh to bring Magician of Black Chaos back to the field, and as far as he was aware, there were no other ways to bring it out. But the card he just drew, the Trap Card Mirror Force, that might help. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Mai picked up a new card. "I summon Harpie Queen back to the field, and attack you directly with all three monsters! So long, Yugi!"

Pharaoh grinned, that cocky grin he usually wore when an opponent walked right into a trap he had lain. "I don't think so," he said as he revealed his face-down – Mirror Force.

"No!" Mai cried as all three Harpie monsters hit the invisible force field around Pharaoh, obliterating them.

"My Life Points are safe."

"For now," Mai grumbled. She looked down at her hand, then noticed the card in her Spell and Trap Zone. _How?_ she silently scolded herself. _How could I forget that I had Trap Jammer down?_

Pharaoh drew a new card. "I summon the monster I just pulled, Magician's Robe, in Defense Position!" An empty magician's robe appeared on the field.

"Where's the magician?" Mai asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Pharaoh said. "I end my turn."

Mai drew another card from the top of her deck. "I summon another Harpie Harpist in Attack Position." Another Harpist appeared on the field.

"And on that, I'm going to answer your question," Pharaoh said. "During your turn, I can activate my Magician's Robe special ability to Special Summon an old friend from the deck." He searched his deck for the proper card; added it to his hand; shuffled. "And the monster is the Dark Magician!" The Dark Magician appeared next to the Robe, a tall, pale, blonde-haired man in purple magician's robes.

"Dark Magician is Yugi's signature monster!" the announcer called, speaking loudly to be heard over the cheers and applause of the audience. "Looks like Mai's in a bit of a bind here!"

"I can still attack your Robe," Mai said. "Harpie Harpist, attack and destroy Magician's Robe!" Harpie Harpist strung a tune on her harp; the sonics were enough to cause the Robe to crumple into nothingness.

"Because it was in Defense Position, I don't lose any Life Points," Pharaoh said as he moved the card to the Graveyard. "Now, it's my turn. I draw. And I play the Spell Card I just pulled, the Equip Spell Magic Formula, to my Dark Magician, increasing its Attack Points to 3200. Next, I'll use my Magician's Robes other ability to Special Summon it back from the Graveyard, though it's banished when it leaves the field again. Now, Dark Magician, attack and destroy Harpie Harpist! Dark Magic Attack!"

The crowd cheered again as the little Harpie was struck by the Dark Magician's dark magic, dropping Mai's Life Points from 5700 to 4200.

They were still separated by 100 Life Points, with Yugi in the lead 4300 to 4200.

"Your move, Mai."

Mai grimaced as she looked at the card she just pulled. "You may as well finish it, Yugi," she said. "I don't have anything in my hand or on the field that can save me now."

Pharaoh smiled – not that usual cocky smile, but a friendly, sportsman smile. "It was a great duel, Mai. One of the closest I've ever played." He drew a new card, the Trap Card Divine Wrath. "I switch my Magician's Robe to Attack Position, then attack you directly with both monsters."

The two magical attacks hit Mai directly, dropping her Life Points down…to 300.

"Well, look at that," Pharaoh chuckled. "You're still in this game."

"If you can even call it that," Mai said as she drew a new card, her third Harpie Harpist. That wasn't going to help her at all. Sure, it could destroy Yugi's Magician's Robe – assuming he didn't use its effect to bring out another Dark Magician; she knew he ran three now, plus at least two Dark Magician Girls – but one attack from even Magician's Robe would bring her down to 0 Life Points.

She set the card back on the top of her deck, and lowered her duel disk.

"The duel is yours, Yugi," she said. "There's simply nothing that I can do against your Dark Magician."

The light from the Millennium Puzzle surrounded Pharaoh, replacing him with normal Yugi. "Like Pharaoh said, Mai, it was a great duel. I honestly thought I was going to lose there for a few minutes."

Mai smiled at him. "You really are a great duelist, Yugi," she said. "Congrats on this win."


End file.
